Cabrera Capital’s Public Finance Team Expands with the Addition of Three Former UBS Bankers

Shawn Dralle was previously an Executive Director in Public Finance at UBS and is joining Cabrera Capital’s Los Angeles office as a Managing Director and Head of West Coast Public Finance. Shawn has extensive knowledge of capital infrastructure financing with multiple municipal governments in California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. She has over 30 years in the municipal banking industry at UBS, RBC and JP Morgan, making her a complimentary addition to the team.

Shawnell Holman joined Cabrera Capital as an Executive Director in Houston, TX. Prior to her 6 years at UBS, Shawnell was a Director at Siebert Williams Shank. Shawnell spent 16 years at the City of Houston and her last role at the city was as Deputy City of Houston Controller. Her experience as both an issuer and a banker provide Cabrera Capital with a wealth of knowledge in the expanding Texas market.

Chris Bergstrom, Director, will serve as Cabrera Capital Markets’ Head of Public Transportation Finance. For nearly 20 years Chris has served the public transportation municipal sector at both UBS and JP Morgan. Chris’ expertise in Airports, Surface Transportation and Transit brings another level of depth to our burgeoning Public Finance team.

Cabrera Capital also engaged municipal banking veterans and former Citigroup bankers Steve Dworkin and George Leung as licensed consultants at the firm to expand the depth of services we intend to provide our Public Finance clients. Steve Dworkin was a Public Power banker for over 40 years and George Leung a Municipal Credit specialist, also for over 40 years. “I am proud to have my former Citigroup colleagues, Steve and George as co-workers again. I gained so much knowledge working beside them for over a decade and have the utmost respect for them as professionals. They both realize the value proposition a firm such as Cabrera Capital can provide to our many Public Finance clients nationwide,” said Mario Carrasco.

The recent hires in California and Texas follow prior additions in Texas that bolstered the firm’s profile and the depth of its Municipal Finance bench. In 2022, Cabrera Capital hired former Citigroup banker and Head of Southwest Public Finance Mario Carrasco as National Head of Public Finance. Shortly thereafter the firm added former Dallas ISD Treasury alum, Ricardo Salazar, Senior Vice President, Municipal Bond Trader Alberto Puentes in San Antonio and recently added Raquel Tello in Dallas as a Public Finance Coordinator. “Since mid-2022, Cabrera Capital has been hired to or served as Lead, Co-Lead and Co-Manager on $10.5 billion in Texas negotiated bond issues and we are very excited for the continued expansion of our firm,” said President of Cabrera Capital, Robert Aguilar. Cabrera Capital will serve as Lead Manager on a pending $750 million Austin ISD transaction tentatively slated to price on March 26th.

“This is going to be an expansive year for our Public Finance Team,” stated Founder and CEO of Cabera Capital, Martin Cabrera. “Bringing Chris, Shawnell, Shawn and all the Municipal Finance hires since 2022 onto Cabrera’s Public Finance platform creates more opportunities to better serve our clients and forge new relationships to continue the upward trajectory of Cabrera’s Future.”

About Cabrera Capital Markets

Cabrera Capital Markets – founded in 2001 – is an investment bank and institutional brokerage firm providing investment banking for municipal, corporate, and advisory clients, institutional brokerage services for municipal bonds, global equities, taxable fixed income securities, preferred equities, and structured products, as well as cash management services. Cabrera Capital’s diversified global client base includes corporations, municipalities, financial institutions, federal agencies, unions, pension funds, foundations, and endowments.

Media Contact:
Robert Aguilar, President
Cabrera Capital Markets
(312) 236-8888
raguilar@cabreracapital.com